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EMBA Alumni Honor Jindal School Mentor with Professorship

Steve Lewis EMBA'05 (from left) and Mindy Jones EMBA'05 are pictured with Dr. John F. McCracken, director of the healthcare management for physicians executive education program, and Dr. Hasan Pirkul, dean of the Naveen Jindal School of Management.

For Mindy Jones and Steve Lewis, 2005 graduates of the executive MBA program, helping others is at the core of their professional and philanthropic endeavors.

Through their company, Pyxis Care Management, Jones and Lewis chose to establish an endowed professorship in honor of their former professor, Dr. John F. McCracken, director of the healthcare management for physicians executive education program.

“The newly announced John F. McCracken Professorship in Healthcare Management provides the resources that will allow us to add faculty to a growing and dynamic health care management program,” said Dr. Britt Berrett PhD'09, director of the bachelor’s in healthcare management program. “John is an inspiring example of the level of real-life instruction that attracts tomorrow’s health care leaders.”

“Since graduation, John and I have had quarterly visits — really business therapy sessions,” Mindy Jones said. “First, he served as a sounding board toward establishing my own business in health care and then as a strategist as the landscape has evolved. His gifts of time, wisdom and coaching have truly been the foundation upon which I have built my entrepreneurial career. His example is what inspired Steve and me to establish the professorship, and hopefully together we can create many opportunities in the future.”

McCracken appreciated the high praise.

“I’m deeply honored and most appreciative for the creation of a new professorship in my name,” he said. “The Jindal School and the students I’ve had the honor of teaching have been an inspiration in my life, and their recognition means the world to me.”

Jones and Lewis started Pyxis Care Management to offer holistic advocacy and guardianship services. The company acts as an advocate for individuals and families facing life challenges by providing expertise and management to improve health, well-being and quality of life.

With their gift, Jones and Lewis created the first endowment to support healthcare management at the Jindal School. Creating an endowed professorship or chair is one of the most significant investments a supporter can make. Endowed positions are the highest academic awards the University can bestow on a faculty member. Such positions allow UT Dallas to attract and retain outstanding faculty members who will enhance students’ academic experiences, particularly students engaged in research under faculty direction.